ICE
by englandoclova
Summary: Whilst at a crime scene, a member of the team has an accident which leads to some dangerous occurences...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with NCIS

My Medical Knowledge is very limited, so apologies for any mistakes!

Dark, NCIS car skidded dangerously around the corner into the parking lot of a snow covered Pine Tree National Park, normally a 30-minute drive from central DC- it had taken the team 15 minutes- Gibb's was driving.

"Ziva, bag the evidence, McGee, Dinozzo, shoot, and sketch," Gibbs motioned for his team to get on with their jobs as he walked over to the car to do whatever it was that Gibbs did.

Ziva walked over to a gun lying at the other end of the parking lot whilst McGee and Dinozzo clambered down a bank towards the body.

"You heard the boss probie," Dinozzo encouraged, patting the young agent on the back "Shoot and Sketch, I'll shoot over here, you go and fetch the Dog Tags," Tony inclined his head towards the dog tags, in the centre of the frozen over lake next to the body of the deceased petty officer.

Tim rolled his eyes, he knew he should have been suspicious of Tony's kind behaviour.

"I'm not going to walk onto the lake Tony, we don't know how thin the ice is, whether it could take my weight."

"You chicken, Probie?" Tony tried to bait McGee as he shot images of the corpse.

"I'm not chicken, Tony, I'm just behaving in a sensible, adult manner…"

"Brah-awwk…" (chicken noise)

"If its so safe, you go and fetch the dog tags and I'll shoot…" McGee suggested, rolling his eyes at his friend again.

Tony obliged happily, explaining over his shoulder how his years of experience and unparalleled skill meant he was able to rise to such challenges, unlike McGeek. Tim decided not to point out he had just succeeded in getting Tony to fetch the dog tags.

"Are you two done yet?" Gibbs yelled down from the parking lot at his two male teammates, Ziva standing next to him, looking smug to have finished her task already.

Tony's monologue was suddenly cut off by a deafening crack, and time seemed to freeze as he plunged, in slow motion into the frozen lake.

"Tony!" Ziva and McGee yelled in unison a Gibbs charged down the bank at lightening speed, leaping into the water where his senior field agent had broken the ice and diving into the lakes frozen depths.

Gibbs reappeared, gasping for air with a seemingly unconscious Tony lolling at his side as Ducky and Jimmy's van pulled up into the parking lot.

"Terribly sorry we're late, Mr.Palmer failed, once again, to read the map correct…Oh my." Ducky was cut short as he turned towards the scene on the side of the lake.

Gibbs dragged a spluttering, gasping and shivering Tony onto the bank, dropping besides him onto his knees as he reached dry land. Tony seemed semiconscious and rolled onto his front, vomiting violently onto his bosses hands as he struggled to expel all of the swallowed water.

Gibbs, having regained his own breath turned to his agent, tugging him into a kneeling position and slapping on the back, hard, helping him to expel the rest of the water.

Tony grabbed blindly at his boss's shirt, shaking more violently now.

"Ziva, call for an ambulance and back-up team, McGee, help me get him up to Ducky!" Gibbs panted, heaving himself and Tony to their feet, Tony all the while semi-lucidly clinging to Gibbs' as if his life depended on it. Ziva ran up to the parking lot to find signal as McGee hauled Tonys Left arm over his shoulder.

The three agents clambered up the bank towards Ducky, who was stepping out from the back of the medical van with a pile of towels, blankets and NCIS sweat suits. Palmer followed with a first aid pack as Gibbs and McGee gently lowered Tony onto the back seat of Gibbs' car. Palmer left the fist aid kit next to the old doctor's knees as he darted off to help Ziva.

Tony seemed more lucid now and his eyes darted around as Gibbs and McGee drew away, leaving Ducky to tend to him.

"He was fetching some evidence from the frozen lake when the ice cracked Duck, he wasn't under for long but I think he's going into shock Duck…" Gibbs explained, kneeling in the Snow alongside Ducky in front of the open car door, using his hand to hold up the lulling head of his agent. McGee hovered behind, not sue what to do.

Ducky nodded, "We need to get him dried, warmed up and changed into dry clothes- you too, Jethro," Ducky added, motioning towards the NCIS standard issue sweat suits that he had placed on the floor of the car.

Gibbs nodded, and retreated to change and dry in the back of the NCIS medical van, not before given Tony a reassuring squeeze of the shoulder as Ducky gently helped Tony to ease himself out of his frozen shirt and pants, covering each part with blankets as he removed the covering item of clothing.

"Timothy, if you wouldn't mind, I need a hand drying off young Anthony. Now when he is in a more aware state he is likely to be somewhat embarrassed by this so I would thank you kindly if you chose not to tease him about it until he is feeling completely better."

"What should I do, Ducky?" McGee asked.

"Well my dear boy, before I dress Tony I need to ensure he is fully dried to minimise the risk of frostbite or him catching cold, would you be so kind as to climb in behind him and help me to dry him?"

McGee nodded, walking around to the other side of the car and climbing onto the backseat besides Tony.

Ducky held Tony gently as McGee rubbed his hair, head, face and Torso with one of the towells.

Just then Gibbs returned, dressed in a warmer looiking outfit..

"Where are Ziva and Jimmy?" he demanded, just as they came jogging back towards the car.

"I could get no signal on the telephone Gibbs, I'm sorry… …Is Tony OK?" Ziva panted.

"OK, is Dinozzzo in need of immediate hospital treatment, Duck?" Gibbs asked, concerned again for his agent and turning back towards him, rubbing his cheek gently as Ducky finished pulling the sweatshirt over Dinozzo's head.

Dinozzo watched Gibb's hand and leant in towards the warmth. Still not fully lucid and relying heavily on the support McGee was providing beides him to keep him upright.

"Hey Boss…" Tony mumbled, sounding slightly drunk but awake none the less.

"Easy Dinozzo," Gibbs cautioned, as Tony started to push away the pile of blankets around him. Ducky tutted and wrapped Tony up again in the mountain of blankets- he didn't protest this time but instead looked around at McGee.

"Hey Probie, your getting a little close for comfort there…" Dinozzo referred to the way McGee was virtually hugging him to his chest to keep him sitting upright so Ducky could examine him. McGee flinched away, embarrassed, causing Tony to slump forwards and be caught by Gibbs and Ziva as Ducky pulled a thick pair of socks- Gibbs wasn't sure where he had produced them from- onto Dinozzos bare feet.

"Well Jethro, I would say that the fact he is warm, dry and lucid suggest he is out of danger in terms of any immediate effects. Given that he has a fully trained doctor in close proximity should he suffer any ill effects, and his hatred for hospitals, I would say he is better off being monitored closely by us…

Gibbs nodded.

"OK, McGee, Ziva Shoot and Sketch, Ducky, you and Palmer collect the body."

The agents and medical examiners scuttled off to perform their various tasks, McGee taking a moment to steady Tony into a comfortable position leaning against the back rest.

Gibbs climbed into the car besides Tony, closing the doors before turning on the heating full blast. "You warm enough Dinozzo?" Gibbs asked.

Down besides the lake, as they shot the body, Ziva questioned McGee.

"Why the fuss over Tony McGee, Gibbs was in the water too, and they both seem fine? Is it not giving into Dinozzos attention seeking to molly-cobble him?"

Tim frowned, "Its molly-coddle Ziva, and when the Plague Ton suffered from has left his lungs seriously compromised, he is extremely vulnerable to lung infections like pneumonia, particularily when he experiences extreme conditions like he has today… …it could be enough to kill him. If you'd seen him with the plague, you'd understand why we are cautious, it was terrifying…"

Ziva frowned apologetically- she hadn't realised.

Back in the car, as Gibbs covered Tony in his coat, he let out a deep, chesty but spluttering cough…

Hope you like! Please R+R

Again, sorry for any and all mistakes in spelling and terminology!


	2. Chapter 2

Back in the bullpen after the evidence had been processed and the team had returned from the crime scene, Tony was the reluctant patient to a worried Ducky.

Dinozzo groaned and pulled away as Ducky peeled open his eyelids and shone his bright light into the agent's eyes.

"Now now Anthony, I know your tired but this really will only take a moment and it will make you feel much better if I know what's wrong with you my boy…" Dinozzo interrupted with a spluttering cough. In an instant he had changed position from leaning back on his chair behind his desk to bent double, gasping for breath.

Gibbs was in MTAC, but Ziva and McGee moved from hovering nervously behind Tony to the old medical examiners side in an instant, where they remained, not sure what the could do to help their friend but feeling their closeness was necessary.

"Dear me Anthony, it seems the cold really has gone to your chest…" Ducky expertly slipped his stethoscope under Tony's sweatshirt whilst rubbing-reassuring circles on the younger man's back.

Recovering his composure, Tony looked at the old doctor. "What's the damage Duck?"

Ducky opened his mouth to reply when the lift opened and a high pitched squeal was followed by a smudge of black whizzing across the room, lunging at Tony and enveloping him in a huge hug.

"Oh Tony! I was so worried, I heard you'd fallen through a frozen lake, and I wanted to come straight away but I had to finish the test I was running, and it took extra long because McGee," Abby shot Tim a perturbed look, "didn't come down to help me like he was supposed to, and I then I thought about your poor lungs, and realised you'd be wondering where I was and think I'd left you, and, and…" Abby stopped to take a breath, and gave her friend a reassuring squeeze, realised he couldn't breath she was hugging him so hard and leant back a little, settling on his knee.

"Is he going to be OK Ducky?" Abby asked, peering towards her old friend as she snuggled into Tony, who put his arm around her, grateful for her warmth.

"We'll Abigail, it is difficult to predict exactly what, if any problems Tony might encounter, as you know there are very few survivors of Y-Pepsis with which to compare the situation to…" noticing Abby's stricken expression, the doctor elaborated, hoping to put his both Abby and Tony's minds at ease, "however, having examined you Tony, I am satisfied that, providing you take proper care of yourself over the next few days, you should recover well. But…" Ducky raised a finger towards his charge as he grinned enthusiastically, "…it is extremely important that you take it easy and are closely monitored, as you are aware, your lungs are relatively weak, and having listened to your chest I am certain you have already developed a minor chest infection, which could easily escalate."

"That means your on desk duty only for at least the next couple of days Dinozzo." As usual, Gibbs had approached the group without any of them being aware of him until this moment.

Tony opened his mouth to protest, but burst into another fit of spluttering coughs.

"Tony!" Abby squealed, jumping from her friend's knee to pat his back and fondle his hair gently.

"Jethro, I rather feel a better option would be for Dinozzo to be confined to bed at least until this cough has passed," Ducky explained as Tony regained his breath. "It would also be a good idea if he stayed with somebody, or somebody stayed with him to ensure that his chest infection doesn't deteriorate," Ducky finished.

Tony sat looking absolutely aghast at the suggestion.

"Ducky, I'm fine, really, can't I just stay in the office, I'll even do desk duty…"

"No arguments, Dinozzo! If Ducky says bed rest, you are NOT to leave bed until he gives you the all clear!"

Tony opened his mouth to protest again, but was interrupted by Gibbs, "I'm warning you Dinozzo, its that or the hospital."

Tony closed his mouth, but crossed his arms and pouted sulkily at his co-workers.

"So," he ventured, "who's on Dinozzo babysitting duty?"

At the mention of this, McGee and Ziva scuttled back behind their desks, avoiding eye contact with anybody, and muttering in a 'busy' kind of a way; the idea of trying to keep a restless Tony in bed for the next few days was not a pleasant one.

"Oh, me, me!" Abby squealed, raising her hand and bouncing back onto Tony's knee, Tony grinned, then contemplated the proposal.

"Abs, I'll have to stay with you, because I don't have a spare room and my sofa's been taken to the dump- I'm getting a replacement next week."

At this, Abby beamed doubly, "Excellent, I just got a new coffin for my guest room, you can be the first to try it out, Tony!" Tony's face feel.

"Abs, you can both stay at mines," Gibbs intervened, sensing that Toy didn't want to upset his gothic substitute-sister.

"COOL!" Abby squealed, "a sleepover at bossman's house!" Tony raised an eyebrow. He coughed again.

"Dear me Tony, I've prescribed you some antibiotics to counter that infection, and I think it is also important that you set up the air humidifier Dr. Pitt instructed you to use in your apartment in your bedroom at Jethro's." Ducky comforted. He knew as well as anybody that the stubborn agent was unlikely to have carried on to use the air humidifier after he had recovered from the plague, but decided not to mention it.

"But Ducky, I can never sleep through all the humming…" Dinozzo complained, before leaning back into his chair, exhausted.

To be continued, with plenty of angst, Gibbs/Tony bonding and the fun of Abby's sleepover to come!

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with ncis!


	3. Chapter 3

Tony stifled a yawn. He was sitting, under a thick quilt on Gibbs's sofa. Abby hadn't arrived yet; she had taken McGee over to Tony's to collect him some clothes, toiletries and of course the dreaded air humidifier. McGee had been sent under strict instructions from Tony to fetch his video games console, TV, a collection of DVDs and any other gadgets that Gibbs was unlikely to have.

He closed his eyes and spluttered another chesty cough. Gibbs, who had disappeared into his kitchen as soon as he had manoeuvred a drowsy Tony onto his sofa, stuck his head into the living room.

"Alright there Dinozzo?" Gibbs moved to his agent's side when the coughing didn't subside. Patting Tony gently on the back and feeling his forehead with his palm. Gibbs frowned as Tony finished coughing. "Ducky told me to keep your temperature down as much as I can, you feel hot to me."

Gibbs disappeared and reappeared a moment later carrying the pile of medical supplies Ducky had given him before he had taken Dinozzo over to his place- a bottle of pills, an electric thermometer and a medicated inhaler that Gibbs recognised as being similar to the ones that Dr. Pitt had used in Bethesda when Tony's breathing was particularly bad- they were designed to sooth and relax strained throat muscles to help the patient to breath. Ducky had assured Gibbs it was only a precaution- he was confident Dinozzo's condition would remain stable enough that inhaler not be necessary.

Tony groaned at the sight of the thermometer.

"Boss, I'm fine, honest…" his protesting was cut short by the end of the thermometer being stuck under his tongue. Tony pouted in the same way he had earlier in the day.

"I'm warning you, Dinozzo, take that out before it beeps and I'll follow Ducky's advice to the letter and keep you strictly in bed for the next few days- that means no DVDs, no video games, nothing." Tony opened his mouth in shock that Gibbs had so easily seen through his plan to smuggle (with McGee's help) all of his gadgets into his make shift home, then quickly closed it before his boss realised the thermometer was not firmly in his mouth.

He doorbell rang and Gibbs went to open it. Tony knew from the clicking of the boots on Gibbs floor that Abby had arrived before she even got to the living room.

Abby stepped through the door, followed by a huge pile of gadgets and essential items supported by a pair of legs Tony assumed where McGee's.

"You can put all that in my guest room, McGee," Gibbs said, motioning his head towards the door at the foot of his landing. McGee struggled up the stairs and disappeared into Tony's substitute bedroom.

The thermometer beeped, Gibbs removed it from Tony's mouth before he could himself and held it to the light.

"Not too bad TDinozzo, but you keep it that way." Gibbs commented, cuffing Dinozzo affectionately around the ear as he retreated back to the kitchen.

With Gibbs gone, Tony got a chance to fully take in Abby's appearance. She was dressed in a pair of pyjamas decorated with a pattern of bat motifs and was carrying a gothic suitcase, emblazoned with a skull and crossbones.

"You walk around the street outside my apartment dressed like that, Abs?" he croaked, his throat sore from coughing.

Abby bobbed her head enthusiastically: "Yep!"

'Great' Tony thought, 'and my neighbours hadn't even had time to recover from Ziva tackling old Mr. McNeil to the ground when she dropped me off that time my car broke down, they already think I work in a mad house.' Tony smiled; he wouldn't want it any other way.

Abby curled up on the sofa besides Tony, wrapping one arm around him, using the other to feel his forehead.

"My poor Tony, your all hot," she said as McGee reappeared from the bedroom and came downstairs.

"Probie!" Tony's voice was still hoarse but had all of the usual enthusiasm that he reserved for Probie baiting.

"I've set up your TV and DVD across from the bed, you just need to plug in the game console if you want to use it." McGee explained, eyeing the haggard appearance of his sick friend.

"And I plugged in the air humidifier, it's on right now." Tony groaned as he recognised the irritating buzz of the air humidifier coming from upstairs.

"So, um, I'd better be going…"

"No McGee! Stay for dinner, join in on our sleepover!" Abby urged, jiggling up and down besides Tony.

"Well, um, er…"

"Come on, McGeek, its gotta be better than playing an elflord on your own in your apartment…" Tony patted the space on the sofa on the other side of him from Abby encouragingly. He had a feeling he may need McGee to distract a fussing Abby later on.

"Um…" McGee perched, warily, besides his co-worker.

"Gibbs! McGee's staying for dinner!" Abby bellowed towards Gibbs in the kitchen.

Tony leant his head back onto the sofa and dozed between his two friends, Abby practically vibrating with excitement as she showed McGee her sleeping bag- a black, silk one with a full sized skeleton embroidered on the front, McGee just adding a few words here and there, intimidated both by being in his bosses house and by the seemingly asleep Dinozzo beside him, who he was quite sure was conscious enough to realise his head was on his shoulder and that it was making McGee feel awkward.

Suddenly, the silence was broken as Tony's eyes shot open and he lunged forward, choking for breath.

Abby squealed and McGee grabbed hold of Dinozzo's shoulders to stop him falling to he floor.

Gibbs appeared in an instant and was smacking his senior field agents back, hard.

"Gibbs, stop! You're hurting him!" Abby wailed, close to tears as she cupped Dinozzo's pain stricken face in her hands.

"He's choking Abs, I have to knock the crap out of his lungs," Gibbs panted, not looking away from what he was doing.

Abby nodded, shrieking as Tony bent further forward, choking up onto Gibbs's carpet.

"Easy, Dinozzo," Gibbs cautioned, as Tony visible slumped, exhausted, helping him to lay down on the sofa.

"Fetch me a glass of water Abs, McGee, call Ducky…"

Sorry its short! Will update asap! Please let me know your thoughts!


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